In the prior art, a vehicle-mounted video recording apparatus has been proposed, generally known as a vehicle drive recorder, that captures the view outside a vehicle by a camera mounted on the vehicle and that records the captured view along with vehicle speed when an impact applied to the vehicle is detected in situations such as a collision, hard braking, etc. When such a drive recorder is mounted in a vehicle, it becomes possible, in the event of a vehicle accident, to investigate the cause of the accident by analyzing the recorded information. Furthermore, not only does the drive recorder serve to enhance the driver's awareness of safe driving, but also the driver's driving habits can be reviewed, for example, for safe driving guidance.
Patent documents 1 and 2 each disclose a drive recorder in which the video being captured by a vehicle-mounted camera is recorded in a continuously looping fashion, and in the event of a vehicle accident, the recorded video is saved on another recording medium. Further, patent documents 3 and 4 each disclose a drive recorder in which vehicle driving data, such as vehicle speed and transmission gear position, is recorded in a continuously looping fashion, and in the event of a vehicle accident, the recorded driving data is saved on another recording medium.
Patent document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. S63-16785
Patent document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H06-237463
Patent document 3: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H06-331391
Patent document 4: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H06-186061